Interim Govt Failed To Meet Tamil Aspirations

Sumanthiran
Drawing The Battle Line For The Hustings
By Waruni Karunarathne-Sunday, July 05, 2015
As the politicians have fiercely entered their
political campaigns ahead of the upcoming general election, some seem to have
changed their stance merely based on party politics neglecting the interests of the
country. After a series of internal discussions and plotting, everybody is determined to
play the best trump with less in mind for people. While the two main political parties
are targeting to form the next government in whichever way they possibly can, the
minor parties are determined to secure more seats in parliament in order to gain more
power. Speaking to The Sunday Leader, several political party members, including the
UNP, SLFP, JVP and TNA expressed their views on the upcoming election and showed
confidence to face the election.

During the last presidential election, votes

from the North and East made a huge difference and played a decisive role in defeating
the Rajapaksa regime. However, Tamils have expressed their disappointment as the
interim government has also been unable to meet the aspirations of the Tamils. Among
those who backed the 100-day programme, many including the Tamil National
Alliance (TNA) have expressed their disappointment on the progress made during the
interim period. Former TNA MP M. A. Sumanthiran observes that much more could
have been done during the interim period, and as the country is now heading towards
the next parliamentary election, he also insists that people should make a conscious
decision to reject those who have been involved in corruption and robbing the
country.
Following are excerpts of the interview:

Q: Do you think people in the North and East are ready for an election right now? How
do you think they would respond to the upcoming general election?
A: Yes, they are ready. In January this year they participated in the presidential
election most enthusiastically to change the regime. At that point they clearly
understood the need for the change and they also understood that it is not the end or
ultimate solution to their issues but the necessary first step that they had to weigh in to
get the rest of their matters addressed. At that time, we also told the people, that
restoring democracy is a necessary first step that they must contribute to. They did
that and they know that their votes counted. Now they are eager to move towards the
next step in the process. That can be done at the parliamentary election where they will
be able to articulate their unique aspirations which were not possible to be brought
into discussion at the presidential election.
Q: Do you think the government has managed to address the aspirations of the Tamil
people within the 100 days?
A: Not fully. Well, the restoration of democracy is also part of what Tamil people
wanted. But what is unique to them with regard to the national question was not
articulated in the 100-day programme. Therefore, without further delay, people are
eager to demonstrate their position with regard to the Tamil national issue and how it
should be resolved.
Q: Even though the war ended six years back, many issues that are specific to Tamils
such as issues on the disappeared, Tamil political prisoners, resettlement and land
have remained without being properly addressed. The TNA was part of the National
Executive Council. How far did you manage to get the attention of the government to
these issues? Do you see any progress in addressing those issues?
A: We placed those concerns before the President and brought them to his notice right
at the beginning. Few steps were taken in the months of January and February but
thereafter nothing happened and we could not see a progress.
However, in May, 818 acres of land in Sampur were released by the government. I do
not say that there was no progress at all. There was some progress. Some progress was
made particularity with reference to the land issue. Last Wednesday, we had a meeting
at the Mullaitivu Government Agents Office along with military and the
representatives of the Resettlement Ministry. We found that about 1,000 acres of
paddy land have been released to people for agricultural activities. We can see progress
in that area. Nevertheless, it is way too slow for our liking. We should acknowledge
that it is taking the right direction.
But on the other hand, with regard to the issue of missing persons and the release of
political prisoners, nothing has happened. Some moves were made to look into these
issues, for example getting the list of names and separating them under categories, etc.
But beyond that nothing else has happened. There are 273 Tamil political prisoners
who are held in prisons for a very long time and we have asked the government to
expedite the process. We are only hopeful that it will be addressed very soon.
With regard to missing persons, we spoke to the President about that during our last
meeting with him. We insisted that a proper mechanism should be set up to look at

that issue. We were given assurances that there will be a proper process in place but we
do not know whether that will be done before the election or not. People are rather
ambivalent about that. Some people believe that there has been some progress but
many people believe that there could have been lot more done during the interim
period.
Q: One of the main elements in the 100-day programme was to bring about electoral
reforms and minor parties have been pushing for it initially. People also looked
forward to the reforms. However towards the end, minor and minority parties were
unable to reach a consensus and parliament had to be dissolved without bringing
about the promised reforms. How do you respond?
A: Electoral reforms were never something that we thought was necessary. We think
that the present system is the most democratic system and even with reference to
preferential voting, we have had no problem. Nevertheless, we acknowledge that
country wide people did not want the PR system and they were keen to have an MP for
their area and to accommodate that we were willing to support electoral reforms to
bring in those elements provided that the new system is at least as democratic as it is
now or more democratic.
We were not for something that is less democratic than the present system merely to
accommodate those concerns. We did try. We put our heads together to bring in a new
system to achieve those purposes. But at the same time it was compromised on true
representative democracy. Most of the suggestions that were made did not fulfill that
fundamental principle of democracy. So we had differences of opinion whenever
particular propositions were made. We criticized it. Eventually there was no
consensus. The electoral system should be changed at a beginning of a term. Then
there may be some level of objectivity.
Q: Is the TNA happy with the level of investigations done related to allegations on
corruption?
A: I am also part of the anti-corruption committee that was set up under the Prime
Minister. So I am sort of privy to those discussions. I am also of the opinion that a lot
more could have been done. But having said that, a lot of the cases on fraud needed
detailed investigations and that needs time because they need to record statements
and lots of other things need to be looked at in terms of transactions, accounts, etc.
You cannot get that in a snapshot. That is probably why some of the things that
emerged were very trivial ones those investigations could be done without taking too
much time. Everything has to go through a particular process and a careful array.
Q: In recent times, we have seen differences of opinion among the TNA parties. Do you
think there is a split in the party and will it be a disadvantage at the upcoming
election?
A: We always have differences of opinion. In any party, there must be differences of
opinion and that must be democratically dealt with. This is not just one political party.
In the TNA we have four political parties in our alliance. So we are bound to have
differences of opinion in many matters. But with regard to our common objective,
there is no difference of opinion. For instance we are of the same view when it comes

to what the political solution should be. When it comes to essential matters, there are
no divisions. As long as that is the case, that will not affect our performances at the
election.
Q: What preparations have you made ahead of the general election? How many seats
do you expect to secure in parliament?
A: We expect around 20 seats. That is also due to the reduction of the Jaffna electoral
district else we would have been able to get about 25 seats. We are very confident of
doing well at the election. We won both the Northern and Eastern provincial council
elections therefore we are very confident of getting a significant number of seats.
Discussions are also continuing with people. People are also aware of the issues. As it
is, we can be quite confident.
With regard to the countrys upcoming election, I think people of the country at this
particular juncture should make a conscious decision to reject people who have been
involved in mass scale corruption, fraud, etc. Even in the last parliament, we saw that
people who should never have been elected, had involvement in various activities,
occupying those seats. The change brought upon in January was the same in terms of
that kind of culture. There seems to be some threat of reversal in the parliamentary
election. People of the entire country should consciously reject people who rob the
county, use violence and violate laws and violate the minds of the young generation
and those politicians should be kept out of parliament.
Posted by Thavam